How to Capture Monsters

You could capture monsters by weakening them and then using traps and tranquilizers in Monster Hunter Wilds. Learn more about how and when you could capture monsters, as well as how to use traps and tranquilizers.

How to Capture Monsters

How to Capture Monsters
Identify that the Monster is Weak Enough Use Trap Items Use Tranquilizers

Identify that the Monster is Weak Enough to Capture

You could tell a monster has low health once it starts limping away from the player. It would head back into its resting grounds and sleep in the hopes of gaining back health and strength.

You could also check a monster's heartbeat on the bottom left side of the screen. If its heartbeat is going flat, that means that the monster is struggling already.

Skull Icon on the Minimap

The most guaranteed way to determine if a monster is ready to be captured is to check your mini-map and look for a skull to appear on top of the monster's icon. However, it is good to note that this icon has a certain delay before it starts to show up on your map.

Use Trap Items

Once you've determined the monster is weak enough to capture, get yourself a Shock Trap or a Pitfall Trap. These are items that you plant below the monster to trap them for a few seconds.

Keep in mind that environmental traps like vinetraps would not work the same and won't allow you to capture monsters.

Some Traps Do Not Work on Certain Monsters

Sometimes, monsters can be immune to certain trap items. A great example of this would be how the Shock Trap won't work against Rey Dau thanks to its adaptation to lightning.

Use Tranquilizers

The last step to capturing monsters is to use tranquilizers! There are three items that will allow you to capture monsters in the game, namely, Tranq Bombs, Tranq Blades, and Tranq Ammo.

Tranq Bombs are tranquilizers used in short proximity, while Tranq Blades and Tranq Ammo are used at a distance through the use of the Slinger tool or bowguns, respectively. Regardless of which you use, you would have to tranquilize the monster twice to capture it.

Should You Kill or Capture Monsters?

Capture Monsters to Get More Quest Rewards

Capturing monsters gives you more and rarer quest rewards at the end of the hunt. If you are farming for a certain rare item or monster part, capturing monsters would be your best bet.

Some Monster Parts can Only be Obtained Through Kills

Note that there are some monster parts that you can only get by killing the monster or even breaking its parts. You'll miss these rewards if you just capture them!

Capturing Monsters will Lessen Hunt Time

Since you could capture monsters once they're in low health, you'd be saving time, as you don't have to deplete their entire health. For harder monsters, you would also avoid more risks and death at the end since you would capture them instead.

Not All Monsters Can be Captured

Some monsters, like the Elder Dragons, cannot be captured as they cannot be held down by Shock Traps and Pitfall Traps. For these monsters, you'd have to fight tooth and nail up to the very end!

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